RISCOS Ltd have today announced RISC OS Six on the Glasgow leg of their northern road show.

RISC OS Six is built from a completely 26 bit / 32 bit neutral source, and the move away from the RISC OS 4 brand is because "RISC OS 4 has always been linked with 26 bit computers". The name RISC OS Six is also said to have been chosen due to links with Advantage Six. ROL "hope that everyone will soon see the advantages of RISC OS 6."

A preview version will soon be available for as a softload for existing Select subscribers, and also for those who last subscribed to the Select scheme after May 31st 2004.

Message #94246, posted by VincceH at 16:35, 18/10/2006, in reply to message #94245

Lowering the tone since the dawn of time

Posts: 1586

Perhaps they should have called it RISC OS 95 :-p&nbsp;But seriously, if this means a single version of RISC OS running on all current machines (subject to people upgrading to it, obviously) then I see it as a very welcome move, and well done to ROL.

Message #94248, posted by Chris at 18:08, 18/10/2006, in reply to message #94247

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Posts: 283

Moss:As for version numbers, it's perfectly simple. RISC OS Six(6) is an updating of RISC OS 4.02, Select (schemes 1,2 and 3), or Adjust32 (RISC OS 4.42), or Adjust26 (4.39), which is the ROM version of Select 3 (iteration 4, I think) running on Micos, RiscStations, RiscPCs and A7000/+, but not Select 4, which is different and will only be released on some 26-bit computers, and which is also different to RISC OS 5.x, which only runs on Iyonixen.Crystal clear. I wonder my more companies don't take lessons from RISC OS firms on branding?

Message #94251, posted by fwibbler at 19:18, 18/10/2006, in reply to message #94250

Posts: 318

Yeah, they really should've just given it a name (Thunderbird, Lightning, Storm, Bollocks etc...) rather than a numbering system guaranteed to confuse anyone without a University degree.&nbsp;Has anyone worked out how much it costs to upgrade from OS4 to this latest version?&nbsp;Cheers!

Message #94252, posted by VincceH at 21:06, 18/10/2006, in reply to message #94251

Lowering the tone since the dawn of time

Posts: 1586

"Has anyone worked out how much it costs to upgrade from OS4 to this latest version?"&nbsp;Well, according to http://select.riscos.com/RISCOS6/price.html new Select subs are £199&nbsp;However, you should note that page talks only about the preview version of RO6, and not RO6 itself.

I've just read the answer to "Is there going to be a RISC OS Six version for the Iyonix?" on the RISC OS 6 FAQ (http://select.riscos.com/RISCOS6/faq.html).&nbsp;And I utterly give up on RISC OS. I mean, for good. The sentence "The facts are however that our resources are limited, and priority has been given to working with partners who actively want RISC OS Select features on their products" has finally pushed me over the edge.&nbsp;I don't care whose fault it is. It could be ROL's. It could be Castle's. More than likely, it's both. But the fact that the two main players in RISC OS can't work together for the good of the platform is pathetic. I was told at Guildford a couple of years ago by ROL and Castle that they had worked out their differences. Since then, there's been *nothing* - and neither company have explained why they went back on the deal, leaving us all in the dark.&nbsp;I just can't stand it any more.&nbsp;Now, who wants to buy a top-range Iyonix Panther for £500? I'm serious.

Message #94255, posted by Chris at 09:26, 19/10/2006, in reply to message #94254

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Posts: 283

Moss: You're dead right. The *one* thing that Castle and ROL could have done to generate fresh confidence in the market, and for months they've been incapable of it. It makes me very angry: all that duplication in 32-bitting, updating two SCLs, two HALs, Unicode on the Iyonix only, other stuff on Select only... it's infuriating. Instead, we could have had a sensible plan for integration, some cooperation, and - who knows? - more actual features. I don't blame you at all for bailing out - it's occured to me too. Why don't ROL and Castle get it? They're alienating the people that have stuck with RISC OS through thick and thin. And instead of hammering out their differences, they play leapfrog with version numbers. Pathetic.</rant>

Message #94257, posted by SimonC at 11:19, 19/10/2006, in reply to message #94256

Right on, Commander!

Posts: 398

More of this utterly ludicrous ROL vs Castle stuff. I fully sympathise with everyone who is getting sick of it. Castle carry on in their own little world, and ROL act like a bunch of petulant children who seem to forget that ultimately it's not Castle of AD6 or whoever are going to be using the computers, but everyone else they could sell it to.&nbsp;Both of them should be locked in a room together until they've grown up a bit and decided that they want a future.

Message #94261, posted by davidb at 17:02, 22/10/2006, in reply to message #94260

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Posts: 119

But Castle have now made RO open source haven't they?

&nbsp;Not quite, Andrew. From RISC OS Open's very own FAQ:&nbsp;"From that definition, it is clear that the shared source RISC OS project is not open source for the simple reason that it makes a distinction between people who want to use or access the RISC OS sources for non-commercial purposes and those who want to use them for commercial purposes."&nbsp;[http://www.riscosopen.org/ss_faq.html#Is this Open Source]&nbsp;Now, a lot of desperate/hopeful people think that the license isn't really a problem, and it's just good news all round. Another (possibly overlapping) group of people think that this news about RISC OS 6 is splendid, and that it's business as usual.&nbsp;It's all wonderfully entertaining for those of us who no longer depend on RISC OS to get our work done, though really quite sad when you consider how far RISC OS has fallen over the last ten years or so.

Message #94262, posted by markee at 20:38, 22/10/2006, in reply to message #94261

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Posts: 8

And a lot of cynical people knock it.....&nbsp;There is no compulsion to use RISCOS and no requirment to us eit exclusively (the lack of a laptop and multimedia software is a big problem).&nbsp;Maybe it will come to nothing, but its worth a try. Castle paid money for RISCOS and they would not be doing it if they did not believe it was not a sound commercial strategy.

Message #94263, posted by andrew at 09:57, 23/10/2006, in reply to message #94262

Handbag Boi
Posts: 3439

"Now, a lot of desperate/hopeful people think that the license isn't really a problem, and it's just good news all round. Another (possibly overlapping) group of people think that this news about RISC OS 6 is splendid, and that it's business as usual."&nbsp;Sounds like the road to nowhere to me. Not a very good starting place if you feel sad about the platform, DavidB.

Message #94264, posted by gazc at 10:33, 2/11/2006, in reply to message #94263

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Posts: 16

I think its quite good that ROL have released the next version as RISCOS 6. For me the version itself represents the next step up for RISCOS; I mean what does the name 'Tiger' or 'Leopard' mean to you for example?

Message #94266, posted by Chris at 17:20, 2/11/2006, in reply to message #94265

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Posts: 283

Whether ROL call their OS by a name or a number, they *still* haven't actually released anything to subscribers in months. This is the biggest irritant. Followed closely by the irrational labelling of the various products they have or plan to have, which is currently a mess of names (Select, Adjust, Adjust32) and version numbers. Plus the fact that RO6 is really all about leapfrogging Castle, not about anything radical in terms of OS features, etc.

Message #94267, posted by tribbles at 22:11, 24/11/2006, in reply to message #94266

Captain Helix

Posts: 929

And it's now available for Select users (quote from CSAA):&nbsp;RISC OS 6 Preview now available from RISCOS Ltd-----------------------------------------------&nbsp;RISCOS Ltd are pleased to announce the immediate availability of RISC OS 6 Preview for Select subscribers.&nbsp;All Select subscribers who have renewed their subscription since the release of Select3i4 (30th May 2004) may download the preview version from the Select website now.&nbsp;Members who have kept their subscription up to date or who join at the Birmingham ARM Club show this Saturday (25th November) may collect a RISC OS 6 Preview CD at the event, subject to stock.&nbsp;The RISC OS 6 Preview release gives RiscPC, A7000 and VirtualRPC ADJ users an opportunity to experience recent developments within RISC OS through the Select scheme.&nbsp;Further details of RISC OS 6 and the Select scheme, including download details for RISC OS 6 Select 4 Preview can be found at http://www.riscos6.com/ or via http://select.riscos.com/